I never was very close to my grandpa Remus. He just wasn't the kind of person that a young kid warmed up to. I didn't understand who he really was. For eighteen years I went with my dad to visit my Remus grandparents, but never seemed to get any closer to Ansel Remus. Looking back I wish I would have.
I thought October ninth was going to be like any other Tuesday, and until I got home it was just that. I hadn't been home for more than an hour when the phone rang. My dad was calling to give me the greatest responsibility Id ever had. He had been with his siblings, comforting their mother. I could hear the pain in his voice, the tightness in his chest, as he told me what was being requested of the eldest Remus grandsons. Grandma Remus wanted the six of us to be my grandfather's pallbearers.
The rest of the week went by excruciatingly slow, but then out of nowhere it was Sunday morning. That Sunday was as beautiful as any Sunday had ever been. The early morning sun played across the back country roads on the way to Galesville, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The butterflies my stomach had filled up with at the beginning of the drive, stayed with me the whole way. We arrived at the Galesville church to be met by surprising high spirits. This didn’t get rid of my butterflies. Slowly but surely the Remus family finished showing up and the six pallbearers met to have a brief rundown of the funeral.
The six of us were told to sit in the front row. We were the last people in the entire church to take our seats and it felt as though every person in that church watched our march up the center aisle. Every step we took brought us closer to the ice blue casket we were entrusted to carry. As we passed the second pew our grandmother broke down in tears, her emotions unable to be held in check any longer. She was but one of the many people to shed tears that day.
Despite the crying family members and the choked up speakers, my cousins and I remained stoic throughout the whole service. Before I knew it, it was time for the pallbearers to do their job. We stood up, full of purpose and honor. During the course of the funeral I had learned more about my grandfather than I had my entire life. I had never known my grandfather as being a war hero, I don't think anyone had. Three of us went to each side of the casket, all grasping the cold metal bars at its sides. At the same time, we all lifted. The six of us all bearing the weight of responsibility and the coffin.
Once we had loaded the casket into the hearse, the funeral procession snaked its way to the cemetery. That day at the cemetery is etched into mind as vividly as any picture. The 21-gun salute ringing out across the open fields as I stood next to my father, both of us showing our respects to a past hero. We all watched in silence as the American flag was folded and presented to my grandmother, who hugged it tightly to her chest. She looked then to my father and exteded her arms saying, "if any of us should have this, it should be the one who has served our country."
Looking back at the time spent with Grandpa Remus, I really wish I would have gotten to know him better. I wish I could have learned more about who he was and what he had been through. I'm glad that I still have grandparents that are part of my life and I cherish my time with them.

The Current Education System

I think for the most part our education system does a pretty good job. I just don't like how a good amount of jobs require expensive schooling and then just end up giving you on the job training. It is like we are paying people so that we can get paid more than the next guy. It makes it very unfair for some. This being said, I am very thankful for the experience I've had with our education system.

I believe there could be a much better system for educating the people of the United States though. I would change would be the collage system. Collage would be optional like it is now, but it would not cost anything to go. It would just be more school after high school. It would more or less be the same, you would still apply and need to take the standardized test. If it were like this people could go right to the work force or keep going to school for a more specialized job. This way financial standings would not hinder anyone and everyone would be on a level playing field. It would be up to the individual and not that persons family to get them into school. Think about it, if you were smart enough to go to Harvard you could go there. A person wouldn't have to pay huge sums of money and spend the rest of their life paying it off. The privileged child would have no advantage, money wise, over an impoverished person.

It seems to me that training for a particular job would also streamline the process too. I can't recall ever talking to someone that loves all their classes. If someone loves to read and write stories why should they take math that they probably will never use? I understand that generals make people well rounded, but it's not necessary. Maybe generals should be optional. A math major wouldn't need to take a speech class, but maybe they want to become better public speakers, so they would take the class. Maybe a biology major wants to write properly, so they take some writing classes. Isn't it unfair to force people into a situation they fear more than anything? If classes were options, people who are deathly afraid of public speaking would not need to make speeches in front of their pears, or people with horrible test anxiety wouldn't have to suffer though math tests they dread.

I don't see profitable establishments such as collages changing. There is no reason for them to at this point. They can keep making money so why stop? It makes sense when you think about it. I know I wouldn't stop making money if the choice was presented to me and I'm sure that's the same for most of us. Eventually though, we will need to start looking out for each other more, especially with the world going in the direction it is.

ME

My name is Cole, like the westernt outlaw. I have lived in the La Crosse area my whole life and I wouldn't have rather lived anywhere else. I just turned 20 this Augest and sadly I still live at home. Hopfully for only another year. Right now im in the lab tech. program but I don't realy know what I want to do with my life yet. I should probobly figured out sooner or later. I have a cat that I love (and am also very alergic to), two pugs that sit around all day, and used to have chickens and various lizards. In my spare time I like to paintball, ski, and have an alaround good time!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend is always great. You go to school for a week and then get a three day weekend to spend with friends or family. That’s exactly what I did with my weekend. Some friends came back from school to see their families. They were back for the weekend so of course we had to do something. It was nice that our labor day weekend wasn't so hot and humid. After a summer of sweating it was nice to have some cooler weather, and the cooler weather got rid of a lot of the bugs. With any luck the bugs won't come back till next year.

the best worst cell phone

The year that i have had my black berry smart phone I have been disappointed and amazed over and over.  As many blackberry users have noticed, the signal strength of the blackberry is right up there with the best.  I have visited friends houses that my old phone would find no signal at all, but with the black berry I am able to make calls with 3 and sometimes 4 bars!  Although i have great signal strength sometimes I just don't get the calls some people are trying to make to me.  Every once in a while I'll receive a random voice mail and when I go to check it, its from weeks ago!

Of the phones i have had though, the black berry has survived the longest. It has made it through many a drop in the shower, a few throws across rooms, and a night outside under a foot of snow.  I would have to say, pretty tough phone.

But, thats pretty much where the good ends.  The battery life is nothing to call home about(no pun intended), it likes to freeze up, its internet is pretty slow, and the speaker is going out.  I know your probably thinking this is from all the abuse.  Well let me tell you that these problems have been going on for much longer than the less then kind treatment of my phone.

My plan is to wait till my contract runs out and grab something thats not a blackberry, and I have no doubt that my phone will last until then.